Another alternative energy company is following the wave of harnessing the ocean's power by planning for an energy project off the coast near Bandon.

Finavera Renewables Ltd., a private Irish renewable energy company with offices in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, has filed a preliminary permit application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission; the commission affirmed its receipt of that application Friday, said Kevin Banister, the director of business development for North America/Oregon for AquaEnergy Group, an Ocean Energy Division of Finavera.

Finavera is one of several international companies seeking to generate electricity from ocean wave action using various designs of buoys anchored to the ocean floor. FERC already has issued more than 10 permits to companies operating wave energy parks off of Florida; in San Francisco Bay; in East River, NY; and i.n Puget Sound, Wash. Another nearly 40 permits are pending for projects off several areas of the U.S. Locally, Ocean Power Technologies has applied for a permit to develop a wave park off of Gardiner.

If FERC accepts Finavera's preliminary permit application, the company has three years to develop and test technology exclusively in one area and set up a process for gathering public input. Once that is done, Finavera can apply for a commercial license to actually start selling electricity, Banister said.

“It's good for everybody,” Banister said of the process. “It kind of sets us up into the position now where we can hold a lot of public process meetings.”

Banister said Finavera is very interested talking with local communities, fishermen and other stakeholders, a process the company is eager to do, even though FERC regulations also mandate it.

“We really embrace that,” Banister said. “We'd do that even outside of the (FERC) requirements.”

Finavera already has selected a target area of about 20 square miles near Bandon, but Banister said that area would shrink to less than 2 square miles.

The larger area would afford Finavera some flexibility, he said.

It will allow the company to work with stakeholders to figure out the best areas to put buoys so they could stay anchored to the bottom and also be exposed to the best wave conditions while having the least effect on other marine operations such as fishing. At the same time, the company could figure out the best placement for the buoys to ensure that they're close to a substation on shore which, in turn, would help Finavera keep its costs down and compete in the market.

In early November, the AquaEnergy Group division of Finavera Renewables applied to FERC to construct the Makah Bay Offshore Wave Energy Pilot Project in Washington. The pilot power plant would consist of four low-profile moored buoys, placed about 3 nautical miles offshore in water depths of between 150 and 250 feet, according to a press release. It is expected to generate enough electricity to supply about 150 homes in Neah Bay, Wash., a year. It also is the first project to receive a power purchase agreement from a public utility, according to the company's Web site.

A consortium formed for the project includes the Makah Indian Nation, Clallam county Public Utility District, Washington State University, Bonneville Power Administration through the Northwest Energy Innovation Center, Clallam County Economic Development Council and AquaEnergy.

Banister said he was excited about the potential for generating clean energy from the ocean off of Bandon.

“Lots of good things are going to come from this,” Banister said.